How I Think About Prompt Systems
A useful prompt system gives the model a job, a shape, examples, and a way to know when the answer is good enough.
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Three takeaways.
Keep the useful core visible and under the user's control.
Start with the job
The first question is not what should the prompt say. The first question is what decision or output the workflow needs to support. Once the job is clear, the prompt can be smaller and more testable.
Write the job before the prompt.
Give the model taste
Examples do more than explain format. They show what counts as sharp, too vague, too long, too risky, or ready to publish. A prompt without examples usually leaves too much taste hidden in somebody else's head.
Use examples to define taste.
Build the review loop
Good systems include checks: required fields, tone limits, source notes, edge cases, and a second pass when the first output is uncertain. The review loop is what turns a prompt into a workflow.
Add review checks before trusting output.
A useful prompt system gives the model a job, a shape, examples, and a way to know when the answer is good enough.